


Nightmare

by Celia_Cipher



Category: South Park
Genre: ? - Freeform, ABUSE IS NOT BETWEEN KYLE AND CARTMAN, Alcohol, Anger, Angst, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempt at Humor, Blood, Child Abuse, Crying, Domestic Violence, Drug Use, Drugs, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eric is in a baaaad situation here, Everything Hurts, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, Harm to Children, Heavy Angst, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, It's Not Good, M/M, Mild Gore, Molestation, Murder, Non-Consensual Violence, Not Beta Read, Psychological Trauma, Rape, Recreational Drug Use, Self-Hatred, Sexual Abuse, Step-parents, These kids are so messed up, Violence, honestly it made me sad just writing this, i put in some funny stuff, i think, im not funny but like i tried okay, just saying, lemme tell you that, like i was in such a good mood while writing the last parts of this story, lots of grammar mistakes, no beta we die like men, oof
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2019-10-08 12:44:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17386688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celia_Cipher/pseuds/Celia_Cipher
Summary: When Eric's mom gets back together with an old ex-boyfriend from her younger days, she has no idea the effect it will have on her and her son. Eric is thrust into a nightmare world, filled with abuse and pain. Will Kyle, his rival, save him? Or will he just make things worse?





	1. Chapter 1

“Oh jeez, Eric, y-you don’t look so good,” Butters said, running to catch up with Cartman, who was walking through the hall. “Did you get enough sleep last night?”

“Shut up Butters,” Cartman snapped. “You’re not my mother.”

Kyle joined the conversation from his locker. “Of course he’s not your mom, does he look like a prostitute?”

Stan laughed and high-fived him. “Nice one dude!”

 

Cartman huffed and walked faster, slipping through the crowd of students ahead and losing the rest of his friends. 

“Damn, he’s in a bad mood today,” Stan whistled. “What’s his major malfunction?”

Kyle chuckled. “Who knows, man. But he’ll probably be over it by tomorrow.”

 

The boys were 12 now, in their second year of Middle School. It had gone by mostly without a hitch, except that Mr. Garrison had somehow continued to move up grades, and was still their teacher after he quit being president. Most everything had stayed the same for them, and all the boys still had their same friendships. Tweek and Craig were still together, and going strong. 

 

As the bell rang, Kyle, Stan and Kenny jumped up, eager to get home and start playing the new game they had gotten for their Xbox. 

To their surprise, Cartman, who had bought the game with them, was slow to get up, and trudged out of the classroom with a small sigh. 

“Dude, c’mon! The multiplayer session that the rest of the guys agreed on starts in 20 minutes!” Stan urged, jogging backwards to continue looking at Cartman.

“Hold your horses, I’m coming.” Cartman said, walking a little bit faster. “By the way, is there any possibility that I could play at one of your houses?”

Kyle snorted. “No. None of us have two Xboxes. Besides, it’s more fun if your chatting with your friends over a mic and headset.”

 

Cartman paused, and then chuckled. “Yeah, I guess so.”

They got on the bus, and Stan and Kyle immediately began talking about strategies they could use to win against Craig and his gang. 

After maybe ten minutes, Kyle finally looked at Cartman. To his surprise, he was sitting quietly and staring at his hands with a worried expression on his face, lost in thought.

“Dude….are- are you ok?” Kyle asked, sincerely concerned.

Cartman snapped his head up and scoffed. “I’m perfect, you stupid Jew. I’m just tired. Don’t talk to me.”

Kyle narrowed his eyes. “Fine, fatty, I won’t be concerned! Go die for all I care.”

He turned back to Stan and resumed their conversation, completely ignoring Cartman.

They finally reached their houses, each going into their respective ones. They all ran to their bedrooms or living rooms, depending on where their gaming systems were. Cartman’s happened to be in his living room. 

They each logged on, meeting the whole group together. 

“Is everyone here?”

“I think so. There’s ten of us.”

“Where’s Cartman?”

“Here. What about Tweek?”

“Here!”

“Alright, I think that we’re all here, so let’s get started.”

After at least an hour, there was a yell. “OW!” Cartman cried, and his character stopped moving.

“Cartman? What’s going on? I can’t deal a final blow until after your character gets the last weak spot! Hurry up!” Clyde yelled.

Cartman coughed for a while before stopping. “Sorry guys, gotta go. I just hit the controller against my knee too hard, but my mom’s calling me now.”

“Psh, how stupid,” Craig scoffed.

“You can’t leave now, otherwise we’re all dead!” Clyde shrieked. 

There was a beep as Cartman’s character dissolved into the wind, meaning that he left the session.

“NO! GODDAMMIT!” Tweek yelled as the boss swept his arm, killing all the remaining boys. The boys all winced as their accounts were signed out, unable to play again for another 24 hours. Each one cursed Cartman as they went down to have dinner with the rest of their families. 

The next day, Cartman came to school with his head down, obviously ashamed of himself. 

Butters ran up in the hallway, glaring at Cartman. “ERIC! Why’d ya leave? We all died and now we can’t all organize another play day for a week!”

Token and Craig, who hadn’t noticed Cartman yet, also whirled around. “Yeah dude, what happened?” Token asked, striding forwards. 

Cartman shook his head. “Nothing happened, guys. My mom was calling me, and she was gonna yell at me if i didn’t listen again.”

“Tsk. No way you actually listened to your mom.” Kyle scoffed. “And did it have to be the one time we needed help?”

Cartman looked up, and they all gasped. “Dude, what happened to your eye?”

It was an obvious black eye, and he wasn’t even trying to hide it.

“What the heck, Eric?” Butters darted forwards and put a hand on Cartman’s face, looking worriedly at the black eye.

Cartman shoved Butters away and stepped back. “Don’t be gay, you fucking homo.”

Butters stepped back, embarrassed. “Sorry.”

“Seriously man, what happened?” Stan asked stepping next to Butters. “Did someone bully you or something?”

“Psh, no way.” Cartman waved them off, but Kyle saw the uncertainty in his eyes. “I just fell getting up, and my eye happened to hit the edge of the coffee table. Just a stupid accident.”

Craig laughed. “I’ll say. Jesus dude, how idiotic is that?”

With that, the bell rang, and the boys all left to their classrooms. 

Kyle and Cartman had the same class period, and sat next to each other in the back of the classroom. Cartman was back to his obnoxious personality in class, despite his black eye.

After school was finally over, they headed to their respective houses. 

“Hey, Kahl?” Cartman asked nervously. 

“What, fatass?” Kyle asked, completely out of patience. He had gotten a B on his science quiz, and one he had studied for for weeks!

“Can- uh- Can I sleep over tonight?”

Kyle swung his head to face Cartman. “Why the hell would I let you into my house? You’re probably just coming in to make fun of my mom, or something!”

Cartman chuckled. “Damn, saw through my charade!”

Kyle groaned. “Stop saying ‘charade’ it doesn’t make you sound fancy, and of course I’m not letting you into my house! Especially at night, who knows what pranks you’ll pull while I’m asleep!”

Cartman’s eye twitched. “Asleep….. Crap.”

Kyle looked up. “What now?”

“Nothing,” Cartman said hurriedly. “Anyway, do you have any food? I’m starving.”

Kyle scoffed. “Of course you are. I can’t think of a time when you aren’t eating, fatty.”

“Hey!” Cartman growled. “I’m not fat, I’m big-boned!”

Kyle grinned and punched him in the shoulder. “You’ve been saying it for practically 12 years, and it still isn’t any more true than when you started. And no, I don’t have anything.”

Cartman rolled his eyes and stomped towards his house.

Kyle snickered and headed down his driveway. As he glanced over at Cartman’s house, he noticed an unfamiliar car in the driveway.

“Huh,” He thought. “That’s weird.”

After another moment, he laughed. “Probably just another of his mom’s clients.” He said with finality, and strode inside. 

The next day at school was fairly normal, and so was the day after that. But on Friday, Cartman seemed more depressed than Kyle had ever seen him.

“Hey Kahl?” Cartman asked from behind Kyle.

“Jesus!” Kyle shrieked, jumping forwards. “What the hell was that for?”

Cartman chuckled faintly, but Kyle could tell his heart wasn’t actually in it. “Um, I have a question. And, you’ll probably say no, but-”

Kyle interrupted him. “If you already know that I’m going to say no, then why bother asking?”

Cartman scowled. “Way to be a Jew, Kyle. God, never mind.”

Kyle practically snarled. “Don’t belittle my people, you fat piece of crap!”

Cartman snickered, in a slightly better mood. “What are you gonna do, you sneaky Jew? Stab me with your nose? Swindle me into bankruptcy?”

Kyle’s vision burned red, and he swung his fist as hard as he could at Cartman’s sternum.

“OW! Kahl, son of a-” As he fell backwards onto the floor, Kyle noticed that Cartman was in a lot more pain than his punch should have caused.

“Whoa, dude, are you ok? Did it really hurt that much?”

Cartman hissed up at Kyle from the floor, and Kyle saw that his eyes were watering.

“Dude, seriously, are you ok? I didn’t mean to-” 

As he knelt down to help Cartman up, Cartman lunged forwards and shoved Kyle as hard as he could onto his back.

Kyle cried out as his head hit the floor, and he saw stars for a few seconds. By the time his dizziness had worn off enough for him to stand up, Cartman was already halfway down the hallway. 

Kyle staggered to his feet, glaring at Cartman. “FINE, RUN AWAY YOU PATHETIC, FAT, RACIST BASTARD! EXCUSE ME FOR BEING CONCERNED!”

Cartman simply increased the speed of his walking and slammed the doors open, striding out and not giving Kyle a second glance. Even though he was leaving in the middle of the school day, he didn’t seem to care.

Kyle was fuming, and as he whirled around he noticed that their little scuffle had drawn a crowd. He growled at them and gestured for them to get out of the way. 

“Go, get back to class! I have places to be!” When they had all scattered, he sighed and opened his locker, taking out his history binder.

“Damn, Kyle, you hit your head pretty hard. Are you ok?” Stan said as he walked up to Kyle.

Kyle snorted. “Yeah, I’m fine. The fatass seems to be more irritable lately, don’t you think?”

Stan furrowed his eyebrows. “Actually, I think he’s been a little tamer. He doesn’t yell out as much, as doesn’t seem to begging for attention anymore. Didn’t you notice?” He gestured to the door. “He left as soon as a crowd gathered.”

Kyle blinked. “Huh. I guess he did.” He shook his head. “Still, he did push me really hard. I’m gonna go yell at him once school is over.”

Stan sighed. “I know I can’t stop you, so go do whatever. But come on, a few more minutes and we’ll be late to class.”

After school was over, Kyle dropped his backpack off in his room before heading over to Cartman’s house. He knocked on the door, preparing to yell as soon as it opened, but was disappointed when it didn’t open right away. He knocked again, a slight bit louder, and stepped back. Surprisingly, he didn’t hear Cartman’s trademark yell for his mom.

He sighed and turned around, but then the door creaked open. He turned around and stifled a gasp. 

Cartman’s mom was leaning in the doorway, a nearly empty bottle of vodka in her hand and lipstick smeared from her lips to her right cheek.

“Yes?” She slurred, swaying despite her hold on the doorframe. She coughed and rubbed her nose, and Kyle noticed that there was a dusting of white powder on the tip. She was wearing a long skirt with a huge slit up to her thigh, and an off the shoulder top that seemed to be slipping down even farther every second. Even though she was standing in the doorway, the door was still part way closed, and a large part of the living room was obscured.

“I-uh-I” Kyle stammered, unnerved by her appearance. “I was wondering-uh-”

She narrowed her eyes. “You an undercuve-under-undercover or somshin?” 

He shook his head vigorously. Was she so drugged up that she didn’t recognize him? “No, I was-uh- was wondering if Cartman is home.”

She brightened and straightened, almost losing her hold on the doorway. “Oh, Eric! No, he hashn’t come house. Home.”

She turned around and giggled at someone who was presumably sitting in the part of the living room that was obscured. Turning back to Kyle, she gave a sloppy shrug. “He’ll prabobly-probably be here shoon. Or not.” 

Kyle gave a tentative nod and backed away. “Alright, um, I guess I’ll just go look for him.”

She gave him a little wave goodbye and closed the door.

As Kyle walked away, he grimaced at just the memory of Cartman’s mother. God, she was so different when she was expecting company. How could Cartman stand it?

He walked around the town for a little bit, wondering where Cartman could be. 

After scouring half of the buildings in all of South Park and finding Cartman in none of them, he decided to look near the pond.

As soon as he neared the pond, he saw Cartman sitting on a bench, talking to himself.

He crept closer, wanting to hear whatever was being said.

“God, she’s the worst! She’s gonna kill herself with all the crap she’s doing. But I should be glad, right? I’m- I’m not crazy for hating her, right? She ruined my life, so it’s fair, right?”

He paused, as if listening to an imaginary voice, and then continued. 

“Yeah, right? God, you always know what to say. You’re the best!”

He paused again. 

“Yeah, I guess. We should head back now, right? She’s probably sober now, maybe she’ll pay attention this time when he-” He coughed, and then hissed and clutched his chest. 

Kyle frowned. He definitely didn’t hit so hard as for him to still be hurting after  a few hours.

“Alright, let’s go. No, I’m fine, it wasn’t that hard.”

Cartman hopped off of the bench and gave a weak smile to the empty air slightly above him. “Thanks. Let’s go home.” As he started down the path, Kyle jumped out in front of them, blocking their way.

As soon as he landed, he wondered what had possessed him to reveal himself. He would have slapped himself if he wasn’t pinned in place by Cartman’s shocked face.

“I-um-just-” Kyle blustered, wondering why on earth he had shown himself.

Before he could continue, Cartman’s face contorted into an ugly sneer. “Kahl, what the hell are you doing here?!”

After stammering a bit more, Cartman cut him off. “Just go away, dumb Jew.” He strode forwards, pushing Kyle hard to the side again. 

Kyle stumbled before narrowing his eyes and getting back in his way. “No, I’m here to help you, dumbass.”

Cartman’s eyes widened, before he resumed his glare and stepped backwards. “Yeah right. Just go away, Kyle.”

Kyle started at the correct pronunciation of his name, but quickly regained his train of thought. “I’m telling you not to go home yet. Your mom is still, um-”

Cartman sighed and slapped a hand to his forehead. “Don’t finish the sentence. Now go away.”

Kyle scoffed. “Don’t I get a thank you? Jesus.”

Cartman scowled. “Yeah, thanks for reminding me of the kind of house that I live in, Kahl. Thanks a lot.” With that, he turned around and sat back on the bench, taking care to face away from Kyle. 

Kyle immediately forgot why he was helping Cartman. “FINE!” He yelled, ignoring Cartman’s flinch. “Go home to your stupid mother and whatever “client” she has over right now!”

He turned and stormed away, heading back to his own warm, family-filled house.

Cartman turned to watch Kyle’s back as he left, letting out a somewhat-relieved sigh at his absence. 

“Damn, he’s a pill!” Came a small voice from behind Cartman. “I’ll go pee in his mouth later.”

Cartman chuckled weakly and looked up. “Thanks, Cupid Me. You’re awesome.” He looked down, but then looked back up in uncertainty after a short pause. “Do you think he was...lying? Maybe? I mean,” He sniffed and lifted a hand to rub his eyes. “She had quit, it was Brian that got her off track again. Maybe Kahl just wants me to freeze out here or something. What do you think?”

Cupid Me shrugged. “I’m not sure. Do you want me to go check?”

“No,” Cartman said, shaking his head. “We might as well check together. She normally never stays like that for this long, I doubt that this time’s any different.”

As soon as Cartman knocked on the door, he knew that something was wrong. He heard a large crash from inside and inhaled sharply, preparing to step back and run if she was actually still drunk. 

He looked up as the door opened, and his eyes widened in fear. “Brian! Hey!” He stammered, trying not to look like he was backing away. “Is my mom here?” Cupid Me disappeared above him with a quiet pop.

Brian sneered and narrowed his eyes. He peered around the street behind Cartman furtively, and seeing that there was no one, grabbed the front of Cartman’s jacket and yanked him roughly into the house. 

Cartman stumbled and fell forwards onto the floor, and cried out as his hand hit a shard of shattered glass on the floor. He hissed in pain and held it to his chest, glaring ruefully at his mother’s boyfriend. 

Brian kicked shards of glass away from his own feet and bent down towards Cartman. “Where were you?” He growled. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Cartman said, averting his gaze. “You know I don’t walk fast, it took me a while to get home from school.”

Brian snickered. “You might be a huge fatty, but I’ll bet that it’s impossible for even you to take 4 hours to walk 6 blocks. Now tell me where you were.”

Cartman shut his mouth tightly and closed his eyes. 

Brian threw him back, and Cartman yelped as his back hit the glass covering the floor.

“Don’t ever talk back to me like that. I’m gonna be your father soon, remember that.” Brian sneered, and then grabbed Cartman’s arm.

“Mooom!” Cartman yelled, struggling to pull his arm away from Brian’s tight grip. “Mom!”

Brian chuckled as he dragged him to Cartman’s bedroom. “Don’t hurt your vocal cords,” He closed the door behind them. “She’s out cold, and probably will stay that way until tomorrow afternoon. Just enough time to punish you and then let you help me clean the house up.”

He yanked Cartman’s thick jacket off and threw him onto the floor again, and began taking off his own belt. Cartman immediately went from the offensive to defensive, covering his face and pulling his knees up to his chest. 

Brian folded the belt and hit it against his palm a few times. “15 hits to punish you for being late, and another 20 for talking back. Sounds good?”

Cartman refused to respond choosing to stay silent even at the risk of further angering Brian .

With a final scoff, Brian brought the belt down.

Cartman sobbed silently into his fist as Brian threaded his belt back into its loops. Brian buckled it, and gave Cartman a final kick in the stomach before turning and walking out of the room. “You better be out and helping to clean in five minutes, or I’m coming back in.”

Cartman lay completely still for a few seconds, before resigning himself to an afternoon of pain and slowly standing up, aching all over and still bleeding from when he landed on a piece of glass. He gingerly pulled his jacket back on, holding his stomach and refusing to vomit. With all the weight he’d been forced to lose, he really couldn’t afford to lose any more nourishment. 

He zipped it up and looked at himself in the mirror, performing a quick 360 to check for any visible bruising. Seeing none, he wiped his eyes and stumbled out of his room, towards the living room.

Brian was sitting on the couch with a cigarette, flipping through channels. He flicked his eyes up as Cartman entered and then turned back to the TV. 

“Go get the dustpan,” He drawled. “There’s glass everywhere from that jumbo wine glass your whore mother broke.”

Cartman bristled at the way Brian referred to his mother, but he refrained from opening his mouth. He limped over to the kitchen closet, but before he could open it, there was a knock on the door. He froze in place, then tentatively looked over at Brian. 

Whoever was on the other side of the door knocked louder, and Brian scowled. “Well?” He asked, glaring at Cartman. “Go get the door.”

Cartman surveyed the room. “But-”

Brian growled and straightened. “Didn’t you hear me? I said get the door.”

Cartman gingerly stepped over the glass to get to the door and opened it, keeping the chain in place so it only opened a few inches. 

On the other side, Kyle saw Cartman and looked down. “Hey,” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. “So, about me going off earlier. Maybe that was uncalled for, and-”

“What are you doing here?” Cartman hissed, glaring. “Go home, stupid Jew.”

Kyle snapped his head up. “I’m trying to be nice to your fat ass, and-” He quickly cut himself off, and his expression morphed to one of confusion. “Dude, have you been crying? And, is your cheek bruised?”

Cartman internally cursed himself and averted his gaze. “No. Now go away, I’m busy.”

Kyle tried to push the door open, but was stopped by the chain. “Dude, I told you not to go home. Is your mom still….” He gestured to his head. “Out of it?”

Cartman sighed in exasperation. “No, she’s asleep. And I have business to take care of, okay? So goodbye. See you tomorrow.”

He closed the door despite Kyle’s loud protests, and locked it behind him. Damn. He must have missed the most obvious freaking bruise, being so preoccupied with the rest of his body. While walking through the kitchen, Brian chuckled. “Who’s that? Your boyfrieeend?” He said cruelly. 

Cartman shook his head. “No, just a….” What should he call Kyle? His friend? He wasn’t his enemy, but he wouldn’t refer to him as a friend either. “Just a person I know from school.”

Brian nodded and turned back to the television. “Sure. I’ll bet, faggot.”

Cartman turned away in disgust and walked to the kitchen. Opening the utility closet, he grabbed the dustpan and broom and got to work.

After a couple hours, the room was spick and span. All the shards of glass had been vacuumed or swept from the carpet, except for the few which had to be dislodged by hand. After Cartman had put all of the supplies away, he brought out a small can of febreeze and gave the room a spray to rid it of the smell of cocaine and spilled alcohol.

He quickly turned and walked back to his room before Brian could say anything else. Once inside, he sat on his bed and sighed, flopping over to bury his face in the pillow. 

“This sucks,” he thought, and then laughed. “Well, that’s an understatement.”

He fell asleep without bothering to put himself in pajamas or pull up the covers.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oof things get worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm glad you all liked it! Thank you so much for reading chapter one, and thank you even more for continuing to chapter two. This chapter is shorter, because I was mainly trying to get a background in for that first chapter. From now on, the updates are gonna be shorter, but hopefully that'll make them come faster.   
> Also Kyle is kinda a dick in this chapter, sorry! Enjoy the story!

The next morning, he woke up groggily and immediately winced. His back and chest were killing him, and he stood up gingerly. 

He looked at the clock. 4:00 am. Perfect. He crept out the hall to the bathroom, and took a quick shower, making sure to get the dried blood off of his hands. He tried to rid himself of the ever-present smell of drugs, but no matter how much soap he used, it never went away.

He stepped out and wrapped a towel around himself, slowly creaking the door open and, seeing that the hallway was clear, darting back towards his room. He softly closed the door behind him and quickly dressed, then taking out his phone to use as a mirror. Reaching under his bed, he groped around for a few seconds until his hands closed around a small, cool, cylinder. 

He brought it out in front of him and unscrewed the cap. Foundation was the only way to cover up the bruises, it seemed, and he had only gotten it after the black eye had caused too much of a fuss at school.

He carefully applied it to the cheek, blending it with his finger. After a few tutorials online, he was a master at covering bruises. 

He straightened his hair and slipped on his hat. Looking at his clock, he sighed. Only 4:30 am. 

He lay down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. With any luck, none of his clothes would wrinkle and he could just get up at 8.

He closed his eyes, and after what seemed like an eternity, he fell into a fitful, restless sleep. 

 

Next thing he knew, he was walking through the school’s hallways. Strangely, they were deserted, and he was the only student there. Did he...did he maybe show up too early?

“Hello?” He tentatively called out. He waited for a response, and, hearing none, stepped forwards in the direction of his classroom. Maybe they were all in class already. Maybe he was just late.

His steps increased in stride, and he reached his class in no time. He threw open the door, already formulating excuses in his head about why he was late and how to blame it on his mom, but was stopped in his tracks by what he saw. 

Inside the room, Brian was talking to Cartman’s friends.

“Look, I’m not telling you who to hang out with, but as just some friendly advice, don’t go near that Cartman kid. He’s got nothing going for him.”

Stan, Kyle, and Kenny nodded. In the background, Butters was taking notes while Craig, Clyde, and Jimmy read over his shoulder.

“He’s fat, he’s ugly, he doesn’t have a dad, he’s not funny, his mom’s worthless, he’s probably a fag, and a complete waste of time. Why do you hang out with him, anyway?”

The boys in the room all looked at each other, and then shrugged. 

“We-we don’t know,” Kyle said, glancing at the others for approval.

They all nodded again, in unison.

Cartman broke out of his frozen state and stepped forwards into the room. “No-no way dudes, you don’t mean that. We’re best friends, guys! Don’t listen to-”

He trailed off when he noticed that all the boys were staring at him with unveiled disgust, glaring.

“Go away, fatty.” Stan growled.

“Yeah, no one wants you here Eric. Just go cry to your mommy.” Butters sniped.

Craig made a waving gesture, and after a few seconds, all the boys had turned their backs on him.

Cartman opened his mouth to say something that would change their minds, something to make them all think he was cool again, but he couldn’t speak. His eyes stung, and he couldn’t think of a single thing to say. 

He sniffed and ran out of the room, running towards the cafeteria. Chef would be there, and he could always make things better! He could just sing a song, and-

Cartman stopped in his tracks as a realization hit him with the force of a bullet train.

Chef was dead. He’d died years ago, and even if he hadn’t, he never liked Cartman as much as the other boys. He’d probably be on their side in this argument. 

He quickly turned and darted towards the doors to the school, eager to get out. So eager, in fact, that he neglected to even open the door first. 

As he smashed into the school doors, he sat upwards in bed with a start. He put a hand to his forehead, breathing heavily and trying to calm himself down.

The nightmare was one of many recurring ones that had started to circulate as soon as Brian entered his life again. Some of the other ones included his mom overdosing and dying, his friends dying, or his mom marrying Brian. There were others, but Cartman wasn’t in much of a hurry to recall them.

He looked down at himself and sighed. He was sweaty and his clothes were insanely wrinkled from the nightmare, so he would have to change before heading out to school. He snuck a quick glance at the mirror and ran a hand through his hair, making sure it wasn’t too messy. He threw on a new shirt and decided that his normal jacket was good enough, so he tugged it back on and darted through the living room on tiptoes so Brian wouldn’t wake up. 

 

As he entered the school building, his eyes fell upon Kyle, who awkwardly looked him up and dawn before averting his gaze.

Cartman sighed in relief, glad that he wasn’t the victim of any unnecessary questioning. His temporary peace lasted only until third period though, because as soon as he picked up his pencil, Mr. Mackey’s voice drifted over the loudspeaker. “Uh, Eric Cartman and K-Kyle Broflovski to my office, m’kay?”

Kyle immediately stood up and walked over to the door, waiting there for Cartman to catch up. Cartman scowled at him and reluctantly joined him.

 

“What the hell did you do,” Cartman hissed as they walked down the hallway. “Why are we going to see the counselor?”

“I know we’re not the closest, but I’m still allowed to be worried about you.”

“Why are you worried? Everything’s fine!” Cartman said angrily.

“I don’t believe you, sorry.” Kyle said, not even sparing him a glance. 

He stayed silent on the way to the counselor's office, despite Cartman’s protests.

 

When they finally got there, Mr. Mackey was already standing outside, holding open the door for them. “Come on in, boys.”

Kye stepped in without hesitation, but as soon as Cartman followed, he was hit with a wave of terror. Brian was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, smiling at him.

“Hello Eric,” He said calmly. “Sit down, please.” He gestured to the seat directly to his right, in between him and Kyle. The placement of Mr. Mackey’s desk blocked their hands, so Brian reached over and pinched the back of Eric’s hand. “We need to have a little talk about your habits at home.”

“What habits?” Cartman said. He winced as Brian dug his nails in.

“You know what I’m talking about, Eric,” Brian said, slightly more menacingly.

Mr. Mackey interrupted, looking slightly confused. “I’m sorry, can we tell Eric why he’s here first before we begin the intervention?”

“Intervention?”

Mr. Mackey sighed. “Well, Kyle began noticing that you were behaving oddly recently, m’kay, so he came to me. When I called your home, your stepfather-”

Brian interrupted, chuckling lightly. “Oh, I wouldn’t go so far as to call myself his stepfather yet. I’m still just his mom’s boyfriend.”

Mr. Mackey nodded. “Of course. Your mother’s boyfriend picked up and offered to come instead, seeing as your mother herself is still…...indisposed, m’kay.” Cartman looked at the floor, ashamed that his mother’s habits were so public among the town’s population that even the school officials knew about it. “While I was waiting for you two to arrive, he was able to give me the basics on the, er, situation.”

Cartman looked over at Brian, confused. When he looked at Kyle, he seemed to be just as puzzled.

“Thank you, Mr. Mackey. I’ll explain again for your little friend here, and so we can all try and help you.” Cartman tried to pull away, but Brian grabbed his wrist and squeezed. “Recently,” He explained sorrowfully, alternating between looking at Kyle and Mr. Mackey. “Eric has been, well,  _ experimenting _ with his mother’s drugs.”

Cartman’s heart sunk. He couldn’t just lie like that, could he? He looked at Kyle, who looked shocked. 

“I first noticed about a two months ago, a week after I first arrived. I found that large amounts of the stash his mother keeps was going missing, but I just thought she was using more. I was extremely disappointed, because I’ve been working with her to improve her habits and help her be a better parent. When I went into Eric’s room to talk about his mother’s problems and possible options for her with him, I discovered him with the drugs.” Brian put a hand to his face in mock shame. “I couldn’t believe it, Eric had always seemed so against-”

“You were on DRUGS?” Kyle screeched. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” Cartman opened his mouth to protest but was cut off once again as Brian dug his nails into his wrist and yanked his arm towards him. “I can’t believe that I was actually worried about you, you stupid piece of shit! Why would you do that?”Kyle was enraged, and Cartman could practically see steam coming out of his ears. 

Brian scratched his wrist again, and Cartman gulped. “S-shut up Kahl, you look like your bitch mom.”

Kyle shut his mouth and glared. “Don’t call my mom a bitch, you stupid addict fatass. At least she’s not a fucking whore like yours. You’re going to end up exactly like her when you grow up, you know that?”

Cartman froze, feeling tears prick at his eyes. That comment was more hurtful than anything Kyle had ever said before. 

Mr. Mackey held up a panicked hand. “N-now hold on boys, let’s hear Eric speak, m’kay.” He turned to Cartman with a stern look. “Now, Eric, is this true?”

Brian’s hand on his wrist was a firm reminder of what would happen if he changed the story. “Yeah.” He mumbled defeatedly.

Kyle scoffed and sat back down, turning away from Cartman.

“I’ve tried to prevent him from getting at them, but he’s a very clever boy. However, he becomes much more clumsy than he normally is when under the influence, so he ends up falling or bumping into things a lot, and that’s the source of his bruises.”

Mr. Mackey looked at Cartman with disappointment. “Eric, I knew you were almost a hopeless case, but somehow, I expected better of you. I’m sorry, but this is going to have to result in a suspension.”

Cartman nodded, keeping his eyes on the floor, and Kyle stood up. “I’m sorry, this is just ridiculous.” He turned to Cartman. “I knew you were a fucking idiot, but this is just too far. No wonder you talk to yourself and shit, God! I’m just….I’m not gonna deal with this anymore. Sorry Cartman, but I just can’t do it anymore. We’re not friends anymore, we’re not frenemies anymore, we’re not enemies anymore. I want nothing to do with you. I can’t believe I was worried.” He turned and strode out the door, slamming it behind him. 

Once he was in the corridor, Kyle decided not to go to class. He turned into the boy’s bathroom and locked the door behind him. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm himself down. 

It didn’t work, because next thing he knew, he was kicking the stall as hard as he could and yelling at the top of his lungs. “Son of a BITCH! I try to help, I really do, and this is what happens? I swear to God I’m gonna kill him! I can’t fucking do this anymore! This isn’t fair!”

He continued to yell somewhat incoherently and kick until he was tired. He slumped to the floor and bit down on his fist.  _ Fuck. I’m so fucking stupid, how could I think he was changing. I’m an idiot, why do I even li- _ ” He stopped himself before he could even finish the thought. “I hate him.”

 

Back in the counselor's room, Cartman stared numbly at the floor while Brian signed some papers detailing the suspension. After a few minutes, Mr. Mackey spoke. “Uh, Eric? We’re gonna have you go home now, m’kay? Your suspension will last two weeks, and Brian will tell you all the details on your way there.”

He felt Brian grab his hand roughly and pull him out the door. Once they were in the car, Brian started mumbling angrily. 

“Uh, Brian? I’m sorry that-” Cartman started, beginning to apologize. For what, exactly, he didn’t know, but he didn’t get the chance to try to think something up. 

Brian jerked the car to the side of the road and turned to Cartman, fuming. “You’re  _ sorry _ ? You almost got me in trouble with your worthless moping, what’s wrong with you? Why are you such a pathetic bitch?” He grabbed Cartman’s head and banged it against the window. “Your mom raised you like a wuss. I’ll teach you how to be a real man.”

He pulled back on to the road, driving fast and erratic until they reach the house. Cartman tried not to cry, because he knew that his punishment would be worse if he made too much noise.

When they got home Brian dragged him into the house, not even bothering to check for any neighbors that might be watching. He slammed the door behind him and shoved Cartman onto the couch. “LIANE!!” He shouted, looking around for whether she was home or not. “LIANE? ARE YOU HOME?”

When he got no response, he grinned and dragged Cartman over to his room, violently throwing him into the corner and once again, undoing his belt. “Take your jacket off. And the shirt, I really need this lesson to set in.”

Cartman quietly shook, stifling his sobs with his hand. He complied and turned around so only his back would be hit, waiting for the first strike to come. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, there's chapter 2 for you! At the beginning of the chapter I write that he straightens his hair, and that's just one of my headcanons. Since Cupid Me has curly hair and is basically just Eric without any appearance-altering things, I believe that his hair is secretly curly. Just FYI!   
> I'm not actually done with this fic yet, and since I have a super busy schedule, updates won't have a set schedule. As soon as I finish a part near the end, I post some from the beginning. This is actually the only fanfic I've ever written that's longer than a oneshot that I'm actually excited about finishing, and not just trying to get it over with. That being said, I really hope you all leave kudos and comments(especially comments!) to encourage me to write faster! Thank you all so much!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oof things get worse again

When Brian had finished beating him, he sighed and rethreaded his belt. “There,” He said it calmly, almost sweetly. “Have you learned your lesson Eric?”

Cartman nodded tentatively, body stinging. “Y-yes. I’m sorry, I won’t make you look like a bad guy ever again.”

“That’s good.” Brian cooed, patting his head. “Remember, I’m doing this because I care about you! I’m teaching you to be nice, and have good manners. You’d never get any chores done if I wasn’t helping to motivate you. Trust me, you’re gonna be a more well-rounded person once you _really_ get the hang of things. I’m teaching you not to be a gay little sissy. You didn’t even cry on the way home! That’s an improvement. Remember, men don’t cry Eric, and we want you to be tough. You want to be tough, right?”

Cartman thought for a second, then nodded. “Thank you,” He whispered. “I’m learning.”

Feeling fairly satisfied with himself, Brian walked out of the room and grabbed a beer from the fridge. “Little bitch,” He muttered to himself as he turned on the TV. “Gullible as fuck.” He smiled and sunk deeper into the couch cushions.

 

Cartman wearily stood and braced himself against the wall. His back stung like hell, and every step made him feel like he was being stung by a million bees. He breathed heavily, and slowly pulled a shirt on, wincing as it brushed against the welts on his back. He gingerly walked to his bathroom and looked in the mirror. He took in his reddened eyes and cheeks, before looking down at the rest of his body. _Ugh_. He felt his stomach churn, and fell to his knees in front of the toilet as he retched. Since he hadn’t eaten much that day, it was mostly dry heaving, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less.

After what felt like an eternity, he stopped heaving and gently stood up, wiping his mouth with a piece of toilet paper, and flushed the toilet. He quickly brushed his teeth and stumbled over to his bed. He obviously couldn’t lie on his back, so he lay on his side and tried to keep his breaths shallow to avoid more pain. He stared at the wall, thinking.

_Is Brian right?_ He thought. _Is this good for me?_ _I know that the kids at school don’t really like me, so maybe he’s right and this is helping. I mean, that Cesar Millan guy did something similar, I think, so maybe Brian is doing the same thing. Maybe I do deserve this. Maybe Kyle is right, and I’ll just turn out like my mom. No, no, if I do what Brian says he’ll help me. Maybe I’ll be better._

He closed his eyes and fell asleep after a few minutes, hoping and praying that his suspension would go by quickly.

 

After just a day, Kyle was already starting to feel the sting of guilt. “I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions like that,” he thought. “Maybe he wasn’t actually on drugs, I mean, he hated his mom’s habits.”

When he saw Butters walk by, he quickly jumped in front of him to start a conversation. “Butters, hey! Um, can you tell me about Cartman’s step-dad? Like, what do you know? Have you met him?”

Butters seemed surprised for a second, but quickly smiled again. “Well sure! I mean, I’ve only met him once, and it was only for a few minutes. And he’s not Eric’s stepdad, he’s-”

“Yeah yeah, his mom’s boyfriend, I know. This is shorter to say, Butters, so just answer me.”

“Well, uh, I went to Eric’s house once about three months ago or so, and I only saw him for a bit. I went to Eric’s room ‘cause we were playing board games and drawing, but after about 20 minutes, uh,” Butters paused, looking down in confusion. “Do you know his name?”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it’s Brian.”

“Oh, ok. Well, Brian burst in and he looked furious! Heck, I thought he was mad at me! He was about to start yelling or something, but then he saw me with Eric and stopped. He was real nice then! He gave me some lemonade before telling me to go home so Eric could do his homework. Golly, but I was so tired when I finally got home, that I just went right to sleep! I-I didn’t do no homework or nuthin’!”

Kyle stared at him. “I’m pretty sure that wasn’t just lemonade, Butters.”

Butters made a face. “No, it was lemonade. But it wasn’t very good though, I don’t think there was enough sugar. It tasted all icky and salty.”

Kyle covered his face. “Oh, Jesus.”

Butters frowned. “Eric was telling me how he didn’t like Brian before he came in and stopped us. He thinks Brian is too strict.”

Kyle nodded. “Alright, well fuck. Thanks for telling me, dude.”

He turned to leave, but Butters grabbed his arm and stopped him. “I don’t wanna judge nobody, but I don’t really like Brian too much neither. He doesn’t make very good lemonade, and for some reason when I looked at him, he reminded me of my dad.” Butters looked at him solemnly for a few seconds, and Kyle was to startled to pull away.

 

Then, Butters smiled widely. “Except my dad makes good lemonade! Well, bye Kyle! Glad I could help!”

Kyle stared after him in shock. What the hell was that last part? What did he mean, Brian reminded Butters of his dad? He shook his head and tried to banish the thought from his mind. Ok, so Brian had a temper. But then why was he so calm at the meeting? There had to be something going on.

On the walk home, he stayed silent, lost in thought about what he should do. “Alright, uh, everyone knows that Cartman pushes people’s buttons. Maybe that’s why Brian was furious. And even though I don’t think Cartman would steal his mom’s drugs to use them, maybe he was hiding them from her or something?”

“Dude, what the fuck are you talking about?”

Kyle’s head swiveled to his left, remembering that Stan was next to him. “Oh, fuck. Sorry dude, just thinking out loud.”

Stan chuckled. “Yeah, I can tell. Why are you so worried about Cartman? The way I heard it, he’s a drug addict and Mr. Mackey just doesn’t want him at school for a bit.”

“I know, but I can’t help but doubt that. It just doesn’t seem….in character, I guess? For some reason, things just feel wrong.”

Stan nodded. “I get that feeling sometimes about us, y’know. We used to spend all day, every day, together. We were super best friends! But then we both got older. We have secrets, we’re more mature, and we have other friends too. People change, and is it really so hard to believe that Cartman changed too? Even if it isn’t for the better.”

Kyle pondered Stan’s words silently.

“And it’s not like Cartman’s ever been an angel in regards to drugs, Kyle. Remember when he and Butters started a vape business in 4th grade? He doesn’t really have a clean record.”

Kyle nodded slowly. “I guess. I’ll try to put it out of my mind for now, but I can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong with him and Brian.”

  


After a little less than a week had passed, Kyle began to feel overwhelming guilt. It had built up over time, but he finally couldn’t take it anymore. He shut his science textbook and pulled on his jacket, telling Ike where he was going.

“Cartman’s house? But isn’t he suspended?” Ike said, raising an eyebrow. “Mom isn’t gonna like that.”  
Kyle groaned. “I know Ike, but I feel really bad. I kinda had an outburst last time I saw Cartman, and I said some mean shit.  I wanna apologize in person. Also, something seems off about that Brian guy. He seemed way too calm at the meeting, something was definitely up.”

“You know that not everyone has anger issues like you, right? What if he’s just, like, a calm person?”

Kyle glared at his younger brother. “Shut up. This dude was weird, I know it.”

Ike shrugged. “Whatever dude. Tell Cartman I said hi.”

Kyle left the house and walked the two doors down. He tentatively knocked on the door, awaiting a response.

After a minute passed with no acknowledgment of his knock, he knocked again, louder.

This time, Brian’s voice carried through the door. “Just a minute!” Kyle stepped back and waited for the door to swing open.

Soon, Brian poked his head through the door and smiled at Kyle. “Hello, aren’t you Eric’s little friend?”

Kyle was struck speechless by how unhinged he looked, so different from how worried he had seemed at the meeting. He was practically glaring, and the tension in his jaw made it seem like he was a second away from biting someone. “I-uh-”

Brian seemed to realize that something was wrong, and he quickly shifted his expression. “Are you alright?” He asked, seeming concerned. “Do you need any help?”

Kyle looked at him again, at how caring and sweet he seemed, and shook the thought of before. “N-no. I just wanted to see Cartman and apologize to him.”

“Apologize?” Brian asked, surprised. “Why would you want to apologize?”

Kyle blinked. “Well, I kinda said some mean things to him, I want to apologize! I think I went a little far.”

Brian shook his head. “No, you were right. He needs to know the truth about how the world works, even if it’s not nice or fun for him.”

Kyle thought for a second. “I guess you’re right, but I still don’t feel right saying stuff like that to him.”

Brian looked at him blankly. “Huh. Alright, just wait a few minutes while I clean up the house a bit. I’ll be back out in a little.”

Before Kyle could argue that he didn’t care how the house looked, Brian had already shut and locked the door. “Hmm.”

He sat down on the porch and pulled out his phone to start scrolling through Instagram. Finally, about ten minutes later, the door opened and Brian stepped out. “Sorry for the wait! Eric just woke up, so he might act a little bit…..strange. I’ve tried to keep him away from his mother’s drugs, and I think I have, but you know how crafty he is. If you find any, please tell me.”

Kyle nodded warily and walked into the house. The first thing he noticed when he set foot inside was that although the place wasn’t filthy, it definitely wasn’t clean. There were dirty clothes kicked into a corner of the living room, and a trash can was overflowing.

“Uh, where’s Miss Cartman?”

Brian grimaced, although it seemed almost like a barely suppressed smile. “She’s asleep right now, sadly. I’m still working on fixing her habits.”

Kyle nodded and took a few more steps in. The more distance he covered, the more unsettling and disturbing things he noticed. Near the kitchen door was a stain on the carpet. It might have been red wine, or maybe…...no. It was probably just wine. There were a few dents in the walls, and what looked like scratch marks on the banister of the staircase. The entire house was also uncomfortably warm, like someone had turned the thermostat up to ninety degrees and suddenly replaced it with a fan.

Brian seemed to notice Kyle looking around in curiosity, and hurried him up to Cartman’s room. The lights outside of it were dark, and a sliver of light shone in from under the door.

“He’s in there,” Brian said, before walking back into the living room.

Kyle knocked on the door, glancing around at the lights, or lack of them.

“Come in!” Cartman called from behind the door. His voice was shaky, and he sounded out of breath and in pain, as if he had just run a marathon.

Kyle opened the door and was hit with the overwhelming smell of febreeze. It smelled like at least four spray bottles had been emptied just seconds before he entered, and he coughed heavily. “Jesus, Cartman, why the hell does your roo-” He cut himself off when he actually looked up and saw Cartman. “Dude, are you ok?”

Cartman stared at him with eyes too wide and a smile too forced. “Whaddya mean? I’m totally fine.” He was standing next to his bed, and Kyle looked down and noticed his legs trembling.

Kyle frowned. “No, you’re not. What the hell? Sit down! Jesus Christ, what happened in here?”

Cartman gingerly sat down and hissed. “N-nothing. I’ve just been reading and playing games on my phone. Watching a little TV. Nothing much.”

Kyle walked over and sat next to him. “That’s obviously a lie, and Brian said you were sleeping. You’ve never been able to lie to me and the guys when stakes are high, so what’s wrong? Is something going on?”

Cartman rigorously shook his head, remaining silent.

“Alright,” Kyle said. “But just know I’m here if you wanna talk, alright?” He moved to pat Cartman on the shoulder but was cut off when he flinched violently, almost falling off the bed. Kyle stared at him in shock, as Cartman realized his mistake and looked uncomfortably at the floor. “Dude, that is not right. I know something’s up, and I need you to tell me. I’m really worried about you now, what the hell is happening to you?”

Cartman glared at him. “Oh, you’re worried? Thanks for that _now_ , you ass. You have nothing to be worried about, everything is fine!”

Kyle sighed. “The reason I came here in the first place was to apologize to you for what I said during the meeting. You’re not gonna turn out like your mom. I know you, and even though you’re a little bitch sometimes, you almost always do the right thing when all is said and done. There’s no way you’d just throw away your future and let yourself be… used like that. Again, we’ve known each other for ages, and I’m not gonna just let you ruin your life, or whatever's going on here. You’re hurting, and I can see that. You’ve always tried to hide your emotions, but I can read you and you know it. I’m honestly concerned for you, so please, please tell me what’s going on. I want to help you, Cartman. Just trust me.”

Cartman hesitated, avoiding Kyle’s eyes. A few times it seemed like he was just about to say something, that words were just on the tip of his tongue, but he stayed quiet.

Kyle tried again. “Also, I’m pretty sure none of this is even your fault. Butters told me some weird things about Brian, and now I’m pretty sure you’re in danger. Have you noticed anything weird about him? Has he done anything to you?”

That got Cartman’s attention. His eyes snapped to Kyle in shock, and he quickly glanced over to the door. He held a hand up in a silencing motion, and listened closely for any sounds.

He then turned back to Kyle and looked at him through haunted eyes. “It’s not drugs, you’re right. It’s Brian.” he glanced at the door again. “I need hel-”

Before he could finish, the door swung open and Brian stormed in. “Is something happening, Eric?”

Eric shot away from Kyle, eyes wide in terror. “No! Kyle was worried that I had drugs again, and I was just insisting that I didn’t!”

Brian smiled sweetly at Kyle. “Aww, thank you, Kyle. It’s so kind of you to worry. But I think I can take it from here. Are you done apologizing?”

Before Kyle could think of any possible excuses, he had already nodded mutely. “Good!” Brian said cheerily. “Here, I’ll escort you out.”

He took Kyle’s shoulder and steered him out of the house, not even pausing to let him say goodbye to Cartman. “Thanks for stopping by!” Brian waved and shut the door, hard. Kyle stood in front of the door in disbelief, forgetting to move. What the hell was happening in that house?

As soon as Brian shut the door, he slapped a hand to his forehead. “Fucking stupid,” He muttered. “Why did I even let that little brat in?” He looked at the ceiling, lost in thought, before shrugging and going to pour himself a shot of vodka. “Oh, Eric!” He downed the alcohol, smacking his lips. “We’re not finished here!” Smiling widely, he strode back towards Cartman’s room.

 

Kyle ran back to his house, nearly frantic. He burst through the door and sprinted up to his room. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Ike called after him, but Kyle didn’t have time to answer.

He threw open the door and rushed over to his computer. He opened a new tab, and quickly searched up “how to tell if a child is being abused.” He clicked on the first link, skimming through the signs of abuse. A dirty or neglected room or house, sudden low self-esteem, changes in behavior, unexplained injuries, paranoia, the list went on. He closed the tab and spun his chair around, staring at the ground in horror.

“Oh god,” He whispered, covering his mouth with his hand. “What have I done?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i would literally die for comments and kudos, please leave some!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so so so sorry for the long time between updates! I didn't mean for it to take this long. There was some trouble at my school haha, and I thought I was gonna be expelled but I wasn't, but my parents still heard about it so I got my phone taken away and shit, but it's all good now. It wasn't anything major, just cheating, but since my school is prestigious or whatever and I'm from out of the district, it could have become a huge deal. But, like I said, all good. I also hit a roadblock with the story and where I wanted to take it, but I got past it and actually figured out the ending! Haven't written it though lol. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this chapter.

Eric had curled up in his bed, sobbing. The covers were pulled up over his head, and even though it made him feel way too hot, he also felt shielded. The worst of the day seemed to be over, but now it was six o’clock and there was no more “day” left. He rubbed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. He took out his phone and searched up Terrance and Phillip, watching a few short clips on low volume, aiming to cheer himself up and forget about what was happening. It buzzed as a text from Kyle showed up, and he fumbled to put it on silent. As he opened the text to read it, he gasped and smacked his head. Of course! God, He was so fucking stupid! He could have called, could have texted anyone the whole time and he just forgot he had a messaging app? He forgot he had the entire world at his fucking fingertips? He grimaced.  _ Maybe I don’t actually want help. _ He thought.  _ If I didn’t even remember to text, was I really even looking for a way out? Maybe I deserve this. Maybe my subconscious knows that this is all I’m worth. _ He read the text and started to type out a reply.

 

Kyle jumped as his phone pinged, and practically pounced on it to read the reply. As soon as he saw it, he groaned and stomped his foot.

 

Hey, can you text what’s going on to me? I did some research and want to help. Help me help you, Cartman. I know you were just about to tell me something.

 

**I wasn’t about to say anything. I’ve been thinking, and this is good. Nothing bad is happening, and I’m totally kewl. Don’t worry about anything, dick.**

 

I know you’re not fine. I’ve done my research, and I understand if there’s something you don’t want to talk about. I’m not gonna pressure you to tell me any details, but I just want you to talk to me. Please, dude.

 

**I told you a billion times, nothing bad is happening. Just stop texting me. Whatever research you did is bullshit, and I doubt any of it actually applies to me. Go away, stupid Jew.**

 

No. I know you’re lying to me. You were way too panicked at the house for that to have been a momentary thing. I am so sorry if I made you feel unsafe, and I know I went overboard at the meeting. I’m sorry. Whatever’s happening, it’s not your fault. You have to at least know that.

 

**YES IT IS, KYLE! IT IS MY FAULT! What you said about me at the meeting was right. You were completely wrong back at my house, and I’ve been stupid, and I didn’t do a lot of things I could have done to prevent what’s been going on. It is my fault, and now I just have to live with it. It’ll stop eventually. Just stop pushing. This is just me getting what I deserve.**

 

Ok, definitely not. You don’t deserve whatever’s going on in that god-forsaken house. You’ve been kind of a bitch to me over the years, but we’re friends. And I’m not innocent in ripping on you either. Besides, you just admitted that something’s going on. You don’t deserve it, and it’s not your fault. If you didn’t realize that there was something you could have done, then that’s just like coming up with a comeback hours after a fight is over. You might have just been distracted, or overcome. It’s not your fault, and I want to help you. My dad is a lawyer, you know that. I can help you get rid of him, fix whatever’s going on. I want to put an end to it.

 

**Don’t you dare even try anything. Nothing big is happening, it’s not important, and I don’t want to get you involved. It might even be over soon. Stop pushing.**

 

Cartman, you know I don’t believe you. Tell me what’s going on.

 

Cartman?

 

Eric threw his phone across the room, wincing at the loud “thunk” it made and hoping that Brian was too drunk to hear it. After a few seconds of silence, he let out a loud sigh of relief and untangled himself from the covers. He shakily stood and retrieved his phone before heading to the bathroom and running a bath. The water was hot, and it almost burned, but somehow it provided a welcome relief to his pain. He sighed and scrolled through instagram, trying desperately to distract himself from the house around him. 

 

Kyle thought furiously, trying to decide what the next logical step in helping Cartman would be. If he told someone, it could backfire and get Eric into even more trouble. If not, things could get worse on their own and end in disaster. He had to get  to the bottom of what was going on before even trying to do something about it. 

 

Another week had passed, and the two had had no contact. Kyle texted Cartman multiple times over the course of the suspension, but he had never replied. Since the suspension was over, Cartman was avoiding Kyle at all costs and trying to keep his head as low as possible. He was limping, and wearing bulky, long clothes. The only part of him that was visible was his head, and even that wasn’t fully visible because Kyle could tell he was wearing makeup. It wasn’t super showy, but Kyle knew him well enough to tell when he was hiding something.

During their first recess, Kyle followed Cartman around, trying to corner him, but Cartman was always one step ahead. No matter how fast he ran from room to room, he never found him. Kyle was fuming by the time class started, and he almost flipped his desk when Cartman walked in like nothing happened, refusing to even look at him.

Finally, it was lunchtime, and this was Kyle’s chance to strike. As soon as the bell rang he grabbed Cartman’s wrist and began to pull him towards the bathroom. He could feel Cartman struggling feebly and whispering protests, trying not to make a scene, and he almost felt bad. 

“Hey dude,” Stan said, walking up behind them. “Oh, Cartman’s back. What’s up?”

“Not now Stan,” Kyle snappd, not even turning to look. “We’ll talk to you later.”

Stan looked at him, mildly offended, before shrugging. “Fine, jeez. You don’t have to snap at me, dude.” He walked away, towards Wendy, who was staring with concern at Cartman. “Hey Wendy, I-” He followed her gaze. “What’s wrong? Why are you staring at Cartman?”

“Something’s wrong with him.” She said with finality. “He’s not acting like himself.”

Stan nodded. “Yeah, I noticed that too. But he has mood swings sometimes, I’m sure that this one will pass too.”

Wendy continued to watch him until he was finally pulled into the bathroom by Kyle. “Huh. Well, I’m still worried. I know it’s Cartman, and he deserves some shit, but for some reason this whole situation feels...off. I don’t really get it, but I wanna find out what happened.”

Stan shrugged again. “Alright, I’ll ask Kyle a little later, see if he can tell me anything.”

 

“Alright Cartman, you’ve been ignoring me for the past week. I’m not gonna let whatever’s happening continue. We are gonna stay here and talk things out until we come up with something to do next that will help you.” Kyle stood guard in front of the door, preventing Eric from leaving.  

Eric shut his mouth and turned away, refusing to even look at Kyle. 

“Oh really? You’re gonna do the silent treatment? I’m trying to help, dumbass. All I want is that bastard out of our town and you alone with your mom again. What’s been happening is horrible, and I want to help you end it.”

“Oh, you want to help me end it?” Eric asked bitterly, turning around and storming to Kyle despite his limp. “Then kill me.”

Kyle faltered. “W-what?”

“That’s the only way to stop what’s happening. Brian is way too smart. You can’t stop him, I can’t stop him, you’re stupid fucking dad can’t stop him, so he can’t be gotten rid of. If you want to stop what’s going on, you have to get rid of me.”

Kyle shook his head. “Obviously you’re fucking delirious. I’m not gonna kill you, or even vaguely help you kill yourself.”

Eric scoffed. “Then you’re refusing to help me. Thanks a lot.”

He tried to push Kyle away from the door, but Kyle refused to budge. “No, you stupid fuck. You’re not going to die, we’re going to get rid of him. As a last resort, he will be the one to die. However, I refuse to stoop to murder just yet, so we’re gonna get my dad as a lawyer. Ok? This isn’t up for argument.”

Eric pushed Kyle even harder, trying desperately to get to the door. “No, Kyle. You’re not going to do anything. Just mind your own fucking business!” He shoved Kyle one more time, who finally got fed up. 

Kyle grabbed his wrists and pinned them to his sides. “I don’t care what you say, we’re gonna end this. Brian has ruined your life, and I don’t want you to have any more trauma. You’ve already had a horrible childhood, and I don’t want it getting any worse, you hear me? Yes, we’re rivals, but I’m not letting you stay in that fucking nightmare house. This is already killing you, everyone can see it. It’s my fault that you had to stay there alone for so long anyway, the least you could do is help me stop it for  _ your own sake _ ! I care about you, you dumb bitch! I swear to god! No matter how much we argue, we’ve been inseparable our whole lives. Nothing is ever gonna stop me from wanting what’s best for you. Are you gonna ignore that? You need to let me help. None of this is your fault, and I’m getting you out of there. I need you to trust me, Eric. This isn’t right.”

Eric stared at him for a few seconds in shock. He tried to form words, but failed. He looked down, thinking deeply, before coming to a realization and breaking down into tears. Kyle let go of his arms, as if they had burned him, and Eric quickly covered his face and backed up. Kyle could obviously still hear him sobbing despite it being muffled by his hands, so he sighed and walked forwards. He grabbed Eric’s shoulders and pulled him into a hug, letting him hide his face in Kyle’s jacket. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, although in actuality it was only a few minutes. Finally, when Eric had calmed down a bit, he pulled back and rubbed his eyes.

“Sorry,” he muttered. “Now your jacket’s all wet.”

Kyle unzipped it and tied it around his waist. “Don’t worry about that. Are you going to try and let me help you now?”

Eric shakily nodded. “Yeah. Thank you.”

Kyle nodded and smiled softly. “Good,” After looking at Eric’s face a little closer, he noticed a large purple bruise surrounding his eye. “Hold on, do you have another black eye?”

Eric froze, then threw his hands up to cover his face. “I-uh,” He then sighed. “Yeah.” He lowered his hands, and Kyle moved to inspect it closer. It was dark purple with a few patches of an ugly yellow, and the makeup covering it had been washed off by Eric’s tears. 

“Dude, this looks really bad! What did he hit you with?”

Eric laughed nervously. “Oh, that was actually from a kick. I’m surprised I can still see out of it.”

Kyle glared at him. “What?” He asked, in a voice dangerously low.

Eric, believing the anger was directed at him, quickly began to backtrack. “No, no, I deserved it, and I’m sorry! I was being stupid and refusing to do what Brian told me, I should have known this would happen. Really, I-” Kyle stepped forwards and shook him, hard. 

“I’m not mad at you, you stupid asshole! I’m mad at Brian! You can’t just-just- just fucking hurt a kid like that!”

Eric looked at him nervously. “Y-yeah, I guess. But I’ve been a  piece of shit to everyone. This is my karma.”

Kyle exhaled steadily, trying to stop himself from just slapping the bullshit out of Cartman. “Eric. You are being abused. No one deserves that, no matter what they might have done in the past.”

“Even Hitler?” Eric snickered, but Kyle could hear the tremor in his voice. 

He sighed. “Well, maybe someone who committed a mass genocide and tried to take over the entire world doesn’t deserve happiness, but you’re not Hitler. You’re a stupid kid who idolized him when you were eight and didn’t know the extent of what he did. I know you, and I know that most of the time you only said that shit to fuck with me. You’ve been a little bit of a bully over the years, but nothing the rest of us can’t handle. You’re not a bad person, Eric. You just get confused sometimes, and that’s normal. You’ve been through a lot, and that’s bound to affect you in a negative way. You don’t deserve this kind of pain.”

Eric stared silently at the ground, trying to process what Kyle had just said. “I-I guess?” He said. “So what are you gonna do now?”

Kyle looked back at the door. “Well, we have to tell someone, someone with power. What about Mr. Mackey? He’s probably dealt with this kinda thing before.”

Eric scoffed. “Please. Mr. Mackey? He’s shit at counseling, and everything else. He’d probably just call Brian over here.”

Kyle coughed. “Good point. PC principal? I’m sure he’d definitely get all up in arms about it, and he’s fairly influential in the town itself.”

“He’s a little better,” Eric mused. “But I don’t know. Remember that time he beat the shit out of me for saying salesman instead of salesperson? He’s not exactly ideal.”

“Oh, yeah.” Kyle winced. “Scratch that. Who else is there?”

  
  


“This was a bad idea, I don’t wanna tell her, she hates me!’ Eric tried to escape Kyle’s grip, but the taller boy refused to let go. 

“Eric, I think we’ve agreed that all the other adults in this town are pieces of shit. Not that she’s the most sane, but I think she’s the most likely to go and do something about it. Besides, my dad is a lawyer, and he’s more likely to take a case if she’s on our side.”

Eric stared at the door, clearly wary, but no longer pulling desperately away. “Is there really no one else?”

Kyle sighed. “No one else. Now let’s go, just trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you, ok?”

“If we have to.”

Kyle pushed open the door, and walked Eric to the middle of the living room. “Mom?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry for the wait, and the short chapter. But hopefully chapters will come fast again now that I know what I'm doing. I love seeing all the kudoss, and every person that leaves a comment extends my life by ten years. Thank you all! See you next update!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyle tries to help again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> catch me cryin' in the club y'all, so sorry for the time between updates! School is a bitch, and with all the essay writing I was doing it was hard to bring myself to write more. But hey, the worst of it is probably over, so here's another chapter, and we're getting close to the end! In retrospect, I probably shoulda made this fic a lot longer just to like....make it longer, have more character interaction because I love those, but I guess it's too late now. Please enjoy the update! (Sorry it's kinda short)

Sheila tottered out from the kitchen, smiling wide. “Kyle! You’re home early!” Her smile morphed into a displeased frown. “Why is that? Did you get in trouble?”

Kyle took a deep breath. “No, mom. Um, one of my friends is in a bad situation, and we need your help.”

“Well that’s no excuse to skip school,” She scolded. “Is it Stan? I’ll go have a talk with his parents, see what I can do.”

Kyle held up his hand. “No, mom, it’s not Stan.”

“Well then who-” She then caught sight of Eric hiding behind Kyle. Her face fell. “Oh. Hello Eric.”

Eric pulled at Kyle’s arm again. “See, I told you this was a bad idea,” He was whispering loudly, almost on the verge of hysterics. “She’s not gonna help, she hates me, it’s all gonna get worse-”

Kyle shook him, hard. “Eric, could you calm the hell down?! She’s not a monster, dude, she’s gonna help. We just need to tell her what’s been going on.”

Sheila stepped forward, brows furrowed. “Are you boys ok? Is this actually serious?”

Kyle pulled Eric behind him, since he obviously wasn’t in the state of mind to talk about his experience.

“Yeah, Mom. It’s really serious. Eric’s mom had a sort of...relapse, so the only person he’s been staying with is her boyfriend.”

Sheila narrowed her eyes. “I think I know where this is going, and I really hope I’m wrong. Why don’t you boys sit on the couch and collect yourselves, I’ll make some hot chocolate.”

She walked back into the kitchen, and Eric sat down on the couch and pulled his knees up to his chest, still a hair away from hyperventilation. 

“I’ll run upstairs and grab one of our blankets.” Kyle said before sprinting into his room and digging one out of the closet. He ran back downstairs and practically threw it at Eric, who caught it with a surprised squeak.

“Oh, uh, thanks.” Eric wrapped it around himself, and began to calm down, breathing a little more deeply. “Hey, hold on, I have a blanket just like this!” He looked over at Kyle. “Where did you get it?”

Kyle scratched the back of his neck. “Oh, uh, I actually gave you that other blanket.”

Eric looked at him. “No way, you’ve almost never given me anything. I definitely don’t remember you giving me a blanket.”

“During that whole Jewpacabra thing..” Kyle said sheepishly. “I was actually the one who brought you home in the middle of the night. I felt really bad just leaving you there, so I brought a blanket, got you home, and put you in your bed.”

Eric stared at him with wide eyes. “Y-you did that?”

“Um, yeah?”

“Jesus, I must have been an idiot for thinking it was the spirit of jehovah or something like that.”

Kyle laughed. “Yeah, you were a weird little kid.”

“Oh, I actually did something similar for you when we were little.” Eric said nervously. “I was….uh….I was the one who got you guys out of San Francisco.”

“Oh, don’t  lie! I’m trying to bond with you here.”

“I’m really not lying, Kyle! I got…...lonely, I guess, without you here. Butters was in on it, so ask him if you still don’t believe me. I went to San Francisco before the storm hit and dragged you to a bus stop. Both of your parents were super drunk, and passed out, and you and Ike were ‘trippin’ balls,’ so I dragged you guys one at a time to the nearest bus stop. I waited there for a few minutes until the bus showed up, and then helped the bus driver get you guys up. I had to walk back because I had a freakin’ hose tied to my hazmat suit.”

“A hazmat suit?”

“San Francisco was full of Smug, I could have suffocated.”

“Wow.” Kyle stared at him in awe. “You did all that for me? And why’d you bring back my whole family? I thought you hated them?”

Eric smirked weakly. “Yeah, but you would have hated me if I let your whole family die.  There was no way I could’ve let that happen.”

Kyle reached over abruptly to hug him. “Thank you so much. If I had known, I never would have been as mean to you as I was.”

“That’s fine,” Eric said. “ I didn’t want us to be any different. I wanted everything to be the same.”

Kyle hugged him a little bit tighter. “Still. Thanks.”

Sheila came back into the room, holding a small tray with three mugs on it, and set it down on the coffee table. “Alright,” She said. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Kyle hesitated and looked over at Eric, who had his gaze cast downwards. He turned back to his mother. “Well, Miss Cartman’s boyfriend has been, uh, abusing Eric, and we want it to stop.”

Sheila winced, and turned to Eric. “Abusing how?”

Eric paused before finally opening his mouth to speak, but no sound would come out. A few tears fell from his eyes before he buried his face in his knees and began sobbing again. 

Sheila quickly swept forwards and wrapped herself around Eric, enveloping him in a warm hug. He stayed curled up, but his shivering slowed and his sobs quieted. Over his shoulder, Sheila raised her eyebrows with urgency, silently asking Kyle if it was as bad as it seemed. He nodded and imitated hitting someone, and then made a limping motion.

Sheila cried out in alarm and hugged Eric even tighter. She refused to let go until Eric had calmed down a significant amount, and was even weakly hugging her back. “I swear, that man is going to jail! You just wait until Gerald hears about this, he’ll be furious! I’ll call him right now and tell him to come home early! This is shameful! This is horrible! How  _ dare _ he do this to a child, especially one of my little bubby’s friends! Kyle, you never went near this man, right? Did he do anything to you? Did he touch you? I’m gonna give that horrid bastard a piece of my mind!” She stormed into the kitchen to grab her phone and immediately dialed for her husband. She went over into the kitchen to fill him in.

 

Kyle scooted over closer to Eric while they waited, and tentatively placed a hand on his back. “Hey, don’t worry now. It’s all gonna be over soon, you see how upset my mom is. She’ll get rid of him for you if it’s the last thing she does now that she’s got her mind made up.”

Eric sighed. “I hope she can.”

 

Eric stayed at the Broflovski home for three full hours just waiting for Gerald to return. He sat with Kyle on the couch, watching Terrance and Phillip to both pass the time and distract him from what had happened.

When Gerald finally got home, he locked the door behind him and eyed Eric somewhat suspiciously, but after seeing how genuinely distressed the boy seemed, his expression changed to pity and he hurried into the kitchen to sit down and talk with Sheila. 

Kyle continued to talk and joke around with Eric while waiting for Gerald to come to a decision. Finally, after hours of heated debating in the kitchen, Gerald nervously came out. 

“Um, Eric?” Eric looked at him nervously. “Since I’m a lawyer, I can represent you in court if you want to press charges, get him put in jail. Do you want that?”

Eric looked at Kyle, who tried to smile reassuringly and nodded.

“Yeah.” Eric said softly. “Thank you.”

Gerald plastered a smile on his face. “Perfect! Alright, I’m gonna go back into my office and look for what evidence is needed for this. I’ve never prosecuted for a child abuse case before, so this might take a while. Sheila is calling the police now, because we need-”

“What?!” Eric jumped to his feet.”I-I don’t wanna go to the police! Brian’s gonna flip this on me, I just know it!”

Gerald raised his arms. “Calm down, Eric, and down worry. It’s totally fine, this is a normal procedure. This is part of getting it to stop.”

“No! I don’t wanna go to the cops!” Eric was panicking again, and Kyle quickly grabbed his arm. 

“Dad, can you just go away for a second? I’ll talk to Eric.” Gerald looked mildly offended, but then shrugged and walked back to the kitchen. “I know this is hard for you, but for there even being a possibility of getting Brian away from you, we need to go to police.”

Eric shook his head. “No, the police are mean,” He sniffed. “They won’t believe me.”

“Eric, you’re innocent. They have literally nothing on you. Brian is the guilty one, and if you go to the police, there’s a clinic for them to get the needed evidence. There’s an examination that you need to do, and with the right proof they can even get Brian locked up!”

Eric stood up. “No. I know what they do in those examinations, and I’m not letting them get their gross-ass hands on me!”

Kyle sighed. “That’s all necessary to put Brian away! It seems bad now, but once it’s all over and done with you won’t have to worry about it ever again! Don’t you want that?”

Eric’s lip trembled. “I just want my mom,” He whispered.

Kyle winced. “Eric, this can help your mom, too! When Brian is gone, she’ll go back to normal.”

Eric stayed quiet, and sat down on the couch again. He pulled his knees up to his chest, and fidgeted with the corner of the blanket. 

Kyle sat down next to him again and wrapped an arm around his back. “Dude, I know how you feel . Sometimes, we all have to do things we don’t want to..” He paused. “Actually, I don’t know. I haven’t ever done what you have to go through. All I know is that you’ve been through something terrible, and in order to get it to stop you need to do something that you don’t want to.. But if you don’t do it, you’ll never be safe, and you’ll never recover. This needs to end, now. I know you want to help yourself, and we all wanna help you. The police aren’t the best in this town, we all know it. But what’s the alternative? Let Brian go free? Stay with him?” 

“I know that this is pretty much the only way for this to work,” Eric said. “But I just know that Brian is gonna make me look like the bad guy. He’s gonna convince them that he’s innocent and I’m just being a little shit again.”

“That’s why we need evidence. Plus,” Kyle hesitated. “Your, uh, your mom is strong, and she does have a high tolerance, I guess, but she can’t last forever. Eventually Brian is gonna drug er so much that…...y’know…”

Eric’s eyes began to water. “I don’t want my mom to die,” He said softly. 

“Then just go to police, and they can help her. If you refuse to do it for your own sake, at least do it for your mom’s.”

Eric exhaled, and nodded. “Fine. I’ll go talk to the police.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yall remember the blanket from Jewpacabra right? And how Eric kept it? Adorable.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> things get even Worse(if that was possible lol)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that some of you were probably like "yay its Sheila she's gonna fix everything," but Surprise!!!  
> And since it took me a while to update last time, I made sure to do a quick one as soon as I could.

“WHAT-WHAT-WHAT???”

“I know it’s a horrible thing to lie about, Ms. Broflovski. He can’t come to terms with his own behavior, so he feels the need to blame others to get attention.”

“I can’t believe that Eric would do this! My little bubby was even convinced! Gosh, that bastard child is such a talented actor. If only he would use that to be good for once, instead of just lying about everything.”

Kyle sat on the couch in shock. There was no way Eric was lying, so how could police just give up that easily? It’s immoral! It’s _illegal_!

Eric was currently handcuffed to one of the police’s desks so he couldn’t run away, and bawling his eyes out. As soon as they walked into the police station, Eric had been grabbed by one of the police officers and Brian had stepped over to talk to Sheila. Apparently he had gotten suspicious about Eric's disappearance, anticipated him trying to tell police, and gotten there first to try and prove his innocence. 

At first, Sheila was wary, and angry, but after only a few minutes of him sweet-talking her and convincing her that Eric was a lying little shit, she turned her anger onto Eric again.

“You come into my house, you tell these absurd lies, and you convince my son?! I don’t care how long you two have been friends! I know what you’ve done in the past, and I was willing to believe that you had changed, that you had actually been the victim of something instead of just pretending to be one. But no! I never want you around my little bubbula again. If I ever see you near Kyle or Ike, I swear I will call the police on you myself! You keep your disgusting drug habits and revolting self-exploitation over at your house, I will _not_ have my sons associating with the likes of you!”

Eric looked up at her with misery in his eyes. After everything, only a few minutes of bullshit from a stranger had her completely against him. Brian had not only convinced the police that he was innocent, but he had pulled the drug addict card again, somehow “proved” that all Eric’s injuries were self-inflicted, and even gone so far as to say that Eric was humoring the requests of older men, just like his mother. A few crocodile tears and pitiful head shakes had turned the whole story around. Brian had even insisted that the police do a drug test on Eric, and when results showed massive amounts of codeine, they had believed what Brian said without a second thought. _That’s what I get for lying so many times in the past. God, I fucking hate South Park._

“Come on Kyle, let’s go! You’re not allowed to see that Cartman boy ever again!”

“W-wait mom! He’s lying! I know Brian is, and I know Er-”

“You shut your mouth right now Kyle! I’m your mother, and I know what’s best for you! Don’t you dare contradict me on this, I don’t want you picking up on any of these habits!”

Kyle shot Eric a panicked look before his mom dragged him through the door. Gerald followed them, and right before he left, he shook his head at Eric with an expression of absolute disappointment. Then they were gone, Eric’s only allies. Maybe not even allies anymore.

 

“Alright, Eric, you tried to file a false police report, and that’s….about a $3,000 fine. And although Brian says that you’ve been interacting with pedophiles, we have no descriptions, addresses, dates, nothing,” Yates peered over at Brian for a bit, before nodding in acceptance. “But then again, it’s you. You’re good at covering up your tracks, everybody in this town knows about you. I definitely wouldn’t put it past you, especially with a horrible influence like your prostitute mother.” Harrison growled. Then he looked apologetically at Brian. “No offense to you or your lady friend.”

“None taken.”

“Anyway, since we don’t have any suspects or leads, we can’t make any arrests. We’ll leave the punishment up to Brian, since you can’t be put in jail and, to be quite frank, I wouldn’t trust you within 100 feet of those other kids in juvie. You’ll have to have house arrest for at least a month. If you behave well, we’ll cut it there. If not, we’ll make it longer. Kapeesh?” He rummaged around in his desk and pulled out an ankle monitor. ¨This will make sure you stay in your house and don’t try to leave. Any attempt to leave will be a direct disobeyal of the law, and if you try enough, it could result in time in a solitary cell at juvie. Some of those kids actually have a chance at redemption, and just having you there could affect them. I hope you learn your lesson, Eric. Next time I won't be the good cop.”

 

At home, Brian practically threw Eric to the ground in a rage. “YOU SON OF A BITCH!” he roared. “YOU AND YOUR _STUPID_ LITTLE FRIEND COST ME THREE THOUSAND BUCKS!”

He yelled for at least an hour, punctuating every point he made with a kick or the throwing of a heavy object. When he had finally worn his voice out and gotten tired, Eric was in too much pain to move, and was all out of tears. He whimpered as Brian grabbed his upper arm and dragged him towards his room. ¨God, you are so damn lucky that I knew Harrison in high school. If there had even been the slightest bit of suspicion towards me, you never would have seen the light of day again. Now come pay me back for forgiving you.“

 

Kyle was pacing in front of Ike, refusing to calm down. His mom had berated him for almost an hour, ranting on and on about how Eric was a horrible kid and how damaging it must have been for Kyle to grow up with him, and how Ike was never allowed to watch his old youtube videos again. She finally ran out of breath, and demanded that the boys go up to their room to think.

¨How could she just turn on him like that? It’s insane! She can do that!”Kyle said, pacing faster. “She's the worst! How could she not see that Brian was lying?”

Ike sighed. “Kyle, you know you jump to conclusions a lot, and I know Cartman. I think he’s great, but I know he lies a lot. Is there any possibility he was lying about this?”

“No way, Ike! This wasn't like him. I know Cartman, and he hasn't been himself lately. He’s been jumpy, and I know that those bruises aren't self-inflicted or anything like that. He’s in a lot of pain, and no one believes him!”

¨I probably believe him more than this random guy who would actually date his mom. I mean, she’s not exactly a catch, y’know?”

Kyle snorted. “Duh. I have no idea how the police don’t even acknowledge that Eric might be telling the truth.” He weighed his options for a second, and then moved towards the window. “Come on, we gotta go help. It’s wrong to leave him in that house with Brian.”

For some inane reason, Sheila chose that exact moment to walk in. “Boys, I’ve been thinking, and-” She noticed Kyle unlocking the window. “WHAT?! ARE YOU TRYING TO SNEAK OUT OF THE HOUSE, YOUNG MAN?”

“M-mom! No! I just wanted...some fresh air!”

“Don’t lie to me, Kyle! I swear, you are in so much trouble! You _and_ your brother!” She rounded on Ike. “Were you just going to let him sneak out like this?”

“Yeah, kinda.”

“How dare you! How have I raised such disrespectful sons?!” Sheila cred. “Come on, we’re all going to the kitchen so I can watch you! I won’t let you out of my sight!”

 

Kyle was forced to stay and do his homework in the kitchen, not allowed to take one step into a place where Sheila couldn’t see him. Finally, at night, Sheila left him alone. “Now that you boys have had some time to think and reflect, I’m sure you both know what the right choice to make is.” She said sternly. “Goodnight bubby, I’ll be back to wake you up tomorrow morning.”

Kyle waited for hours, listening to his cautious breathing, trying desperately not to fall asleep, waiting until the clacking of keys in the other room came to an end and the television shut off. When everything in the house was completely silent, Kyle slipped out of bed and pulled on his jacket He walked in socks to the door, and slipped on his shoes to go outside. Obviously, he knew what the right choice was, and it wasn't staying in this house.

“Kyle? Are you gonna go check on him?”

Kyle almost yelled in surprise, but stopped himself just in time. “Ike!” He hissed. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

Ike laughed quietly. “You’re the one sneaking.”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. And yeah, I’m gonna try to get him out of there. I’ll hide him here if I have to.”

“Alright. Good luck, don’t get hurt, call or text me if anything happens and you want my help.”

“Thanks, Ike. Now go to bed.”

 

Kyle quietly opened the door and ran, desperate to get to Eric. He got to the front of Eric’s house, and was about to knock when he remembered just how dangerous that could be. He grabbed for his back pocket-thank god, he didn’t forget his phone- and texted Eric.

 

Eric? Are you ok? I’m outside.

**Go away. Now.**

I’m not leaving you right now. Where are you? Which room?

**Don’t u dare come in.**

Ok, your room. I’m gonna start there.

**No! I said go away, so fucking leave!**

Kyle ignored Eric’s demands,  climbing over the backyard gate and searching for his usual way up to Eric’s room.

He latched on to the trellis that stretched up the side of the house, ignoring the crunch of dead flowers, flowers that hadn’t been watered for months.  

_Huh._ He thought. _Considering how we’re pretty much enemies under normal circumstances, it’s weird how we have usual ways to sneak into each other's houses._

In truth, Kyle genuinely enjoyed spending time with Eric on a normal day. The Jew stuff definitely bothered him, but after a while, it died down a bit. Eric only used the Jew insults when he was really upset, and he’d usually stop when Kyle said something. Their conversations over the last few years had matured, until they were no longer just hurling insults, but actually interacting, having fun. They played games, Kyle occasionally helped Eric with homework, and so on. It was a real friendship now. Of course, it had started to decay about 5 months ago, but that was when Brian arrived. It wasn’t Eric’s fault.

 

When Kyle reached Eric’s window, he pushed on the frame, unsurprisingly seeing it to be locked. He tapped on it with one of his fingernails, hopefully alerting Eric of his presence. Kyle waited for a  few seconds, and just as he was about to climb back down and try another room, a small hand reached from behind the curtain and unlocked it.

Eric pushed the window open, glaring at Kyle. “I told you not to come here!” Kyle tried to see past him, but the curtains obscured his view. He instead looked at Eric, who had a sizeable cut on his cheek.

“Jesus, dude, what happened?! You need that taken care of, I’m coming in.”

Eric tried to stop him, but Kyle easily overpowered the weaker boy and climbed in the window. Once inside, he just stopped and stared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, really sorry about how I did Sheila! But I think that her overprotectiveness over her kids can lead her to make extremely rash decisions sometimes, and her distrust of Eric feeds into that here. I love Sheila, honestly, and I think she's one of the very few semi-competent mother's in South Park. But I don' want my story to end like that, just police and boom he's in jail. Things have to get even worse before they can get better! also I totally headcanon Ike as a little shit when he gets older. Keep a lookout for another update!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> its the climaaax

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooh its the climax of the storyyyyyyy  
> thx y'all for sticking with the story so far!! only a couple chapters left!!

The floor had broken glass sticking out of the soft carpet  everywhere, and most of the shards had blood on or around them. Eric’s bed was almost completely bare, just a mattress and a pillow, both with red stains, some looking fresh. The wall had a hole in it from where the doorknob had punched through, and there were streaks of some powdery substance on the walls. Most shockingly, Brian was passed out next to the open bedroom door, snoring like an animal, belt undone, and missing a loop in his jeans. There was a knife dangling from his fingers, and the blade was dirty and encrusted with dried blood.There was white powder covering his nose, and his sunken eyes had dark circles under them.

“Jesus Fucking Christ.”

Eric clapped a hand over Kyle’s mouth. “He could wake up, Kyle, shut up.” He whispered, trembling. With the hand that wasn’t covering Kyle’s mouth, he clutched his phone to his chest. He was wearing a plain blue shirt, surprisingly clean, and a pair of sweatpants.

“You actually look really clean, how is that possible?”

“I went to take a shower about an hour ago when Brian finally passed out, I felt disgusting. I still do, that fucking feeling won’t go away.”

Kyle stepped forwards to give him a hug again, but as soon as his arm touched Eric’s back, Eric inhaled sharply and jerked back. “Sorry, sorry.” Eric apologized. He turned around and lifted the edge of the shirt about an inch, and Kyle saw how many marks were on his back.

“Okay literally what the fuck. This is insane!” Kyle said in horror. “What the fuck is wrong with him? I’m gonna call the-”

Eric grabbed his arm. “No! Remember what they d-”

At that moment, Brian stirred. His arm dragged against one of the glass shards, and he woke with a start. “Eric? Why the hell are you shouting, didn’t I warn you about waking me up when I’m asleep?”  The obviously inebriated man looked around the room until his eyes focused on Eric and Kyle, both frozen with fear. “What the _hell_ ,” He growled menacingly. “Is he doing here?” His fingers tightened around the knife he had, and he braced himself against the wall to stand up. “Goddamnit,” He slurred. He stumbled towards the boys, away from the wall.

“I asked him to come! Just let Kyle leave!” Eric cried, grabbing Kyle’s forearm and pulling him backwards.

“Aww, I knew you were a fag.” Brian drawled, “Did you maybe enjoy the time you spent with me?”

Eric’s lip quivered, and Kyle stepped forwards again in anger. “What the hell is wrong with you? You’re torturing a child. What has he ever done to you? Why would you ever feel like this is ok?”

Brian stopped and blinked. “Jesus, what are you, a philosopher? Who cares. People should do whatever they want. Call it stress relief.” He began to walk forwards, gaining more balance as he went. “And why would you even come here? Why do you care about him? He’s a fat, ugly little bitch. His mom is a whore, his dad fuckin’ left. And he’s a whiny little fag. Doesn’t he stare at you guys in the locker rooms? Why are you even still with him?” Brian gasped in mock surprise. “Oh, I know. You’re a faggot too. Delightful.”

Kyle looked down at the knife glinting in Brian’s hand and decided that now would probably be a good time to run.

He pulled Eric back towards the window, before realizing that they were on the second floor. “Fuck!” He cursed, spinning around to look at Brian.

Brian stood and watched them, swaying slightly, before grinning. “Well, you certainly don’t need a tour of the house, you’ve seen everything. Which means I can’t let you go running your mouth.” He lunged forwards with the knife, and Kyle threw himself to the side. Since Brian was completely intoxicated, he fell sideways, but still managed to clip Kyle’s thigh.

Kyle winced and took the opportunity to pull Eric past Brian. “Run!”

Eric ran with Kyle, following him down the stairs, but when they got to the bottom, he fell. His eyes watered, and he just barely held back tears. “I can’t-” He gasped. “It hurts,” He tried to pull himself up the arm of the couch next to him, and Kyle ran to help. “Christ, I hate this, I hate this so much- Oh!” He pulled out his phone and pressed the first number on speed dial. The tone that played seemed to echo through the house, growing louder each time. Finally, someone picked up.

“‘Yello?”

“Ike!” Kyle yelled. “You gotta help, go get mom! Go call the po-”

“YOU FUCKING BITCH!” Brian called from the top of the stairs. Kyle yelped in surprise, and threw his phone at Brian as a reflex. _Fuck._

It hit Brian in the shoulder, and he paused. He looked down at the phone, Ike still on the line, and scowled. “I _said_ ,” Brian stepped towards him. “Not to _run your mouth_!”

Kyle ran to try to unlock the door, but was too late. Brian jumped at him again, and he closed his eyes in anticipation of the worst. He felt Brian fall against him and push him to the ground, but no blade slicing through him. He opened his eyes, and saw that Brian had missed and his face was inches away from Kyle’s, keeping him on the floor.

Kyle screeched and struggled to get away from the foul-smelling man. Brian smirked. “Got you now,” He brought one arm up to brace against Kyle’s throat, and raised the knife above his chest. “You’re just a stupid fucking kid.” Brian sneered. “I’m an adult. You should’ve respected your elders.”

Just as he was about to plunge the knife into Kyle’s chest, Eric sprinted forwards and kicked it out of Brian’s hand. “Don’t you fucking _touch_ him!” Eric screamed at him, kicking Brian’s side as hard as he could. Kyle was able to scramble out from under Brian, and pressed himself against the wall.

Eric fell backwards, away from Brian, as he grabbed the knife again and stood up. “MOM!” He yelled at the top of his lungs. “GET YOUR ASS UP AND DO SOMETHING!”

Brian turned to the boys again, but paused as Liane’s door swung open. “Eric? Sweetie?” She looked around in shock. “ _Oh my God!_ ” She threw her hand up to her face in shock, surveying the room. She took in the bloodstains, her son crying and injured on the floor, Kyle next to him, shaking, and Brian brandishing a weapon. “Brian, what have you….what did you do?”

Brian blinked, surprised. He was more aware now, surprisingly more sober. Trying to kill someone does that to you. “Liane? Oh, thank God, you’re awake!”

Liane stared at him in confusion. “What are you doing? Stay away from my son!” She ran to Eric and hugged him, ignoring his squeal of pain.

“Is that what you see?”

“What?”

Brian shook his head pityingly. “Liane, you’re high. What have you taken, LSD? Whatever you’re seeing, it isn’t real. The only thing you’re hugging is that stuffed bear I bought you a few months ago.”

“Y-you bought me a bear?”

“Liane, this has gone too far. I know we had fun in the beginning, but it’s time to calm down. We have Eric to take care of, and you need to stay sober for him. Set a good example.”

Liane let go of Eric, and stood up. “Oh.” She started to walk towards Brian, but suddenly stopped. “Wait. I don’t feel high. And...I don’t even remember the last time I was up like this. I know that I would remember this stuff, it’s impossible for this to be fake. You’re lying!” She stepped backwards, back towards Eric. “Stay away! I’ll call the police!”

Brian’s comforting smile dropped back into a scowl. “I tried. Sorry, Liane. It was nice while it lasted. You were good in bed.” Without an ounce of hesitation, he jutted the knife forwards, into her stomach. Her eyes bulged, and she froze.

“MOM!” Eric screamed, grabbing her arm and yanking her away from Brian, making her fall back onto the couch. However, the movement also ripped the knife out of her, leaving an open, bloody wound. She coughed lightly, and a few droplets of blood splattered onto Eric’s shirt. He stared down in horror, begging for what just happened to be a dream, a dream that he could wake up from.

Brian sighed and wiped the knife on his shirt. “God, what a waste of a woman. I wish she had stayed asleep so I wouldn’t have had to do that.” He glared down at Eric. “This is all your fault, see? You just _had_ to call for her. She could have been left out of this. She could have slept peacefully through all of this. But no, you had to be a little bitch and cry for your mommy to come save you.” He rolled his eyes. “Sure, she might have been sad for a little bit, but she would have gotten over you. But now she’ll never feel anything ever again. Why did you do that, Eric?”

Eric was hyperventilating now, with no idea what to do. Kyle pulled him away from his mother, away from Brian. “Eric, he’s wrong! This is his fault! Now come on!”

He tugged Eric up the stairs with him, desperate to escape Brian. They reached the top, and Eric fell again. “Fuck, I really can’t,” Eric cried. “Everything hurts so goddamn _much_!”

Kyle looked around in desperation. Brian was walking up the stairs again, knife held out in front of him. He stood protectively in front of Eric, who began shouting again.

“I swear to God,” Brian said. “This is just so much work. How hard can it be to get rid of a fat little queer and a,” He peered at Kyle, pausing for a fraction of a second. “What are you, Jewish? Oh, great. A fucking Jew. I can tell by that nose, you little freak. Hitler had the right idea, I  really wish he had finished what he started and exterm-”

Kyle’s leg moved without him telling it to, he didn’t think he had it in him. With more fury and strength than he thought he had, he raised his leg and kicked right in between Brian’s legs as hard as he could.

Brian screamed and stumbled backwards, tumbling down the staircase, until he landed at the bottom with a sickening _c r a c k_.

Kyle stared in shock for a second, before turning and throwing up over the banister. When he was done, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and then threw it away from himself, disgusted to touch it. “Fucking gross.”

Eric stared at him in shock, before beginning to giggle. Kyle whirled around to look at him, avoiding even glancing at Brian’s crippled body at the bottom of the stairs. “Are you laughing? Oh my god, are you brain-damaged? Did you get a concussion? Are you delirious?” Kyle kneeled next to Eric, grabbing his hand and pulling him into another hug. “Please don’t go crazy, it’s over now, we’re safe.”

Eric laughed harder and pushed him away. “No, no, it’s just-” He burst into laughter and held up a finger to indicate that Kyle should wait. Kyle waited an eternity for Eric to stop laughing. Finally, the laughter tapered down to a small chuckle.

“Alright, what’s funny about any of this?”

“You-” Eric wiped tears from his eyes. “You fucking killed him by _kicking him in the balls,_ Kyle! That was the last thing he ever got! A foot smashing his dick!”

Kyle took a second to process Eric’s words, but as soon as he did, he laughed too. “Well, he more than deserved it.” He pulled Eric into a hug again, and they held each other as they both covered tears with laughter, so happy that it was all over.

Just then, there was a harsh knock on the door. “Police! Open up! Right now!”

Kyle and Eric froze. “Fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well boys, we did it. Brian is no more. Thanks guys, for sticking with the story this long! I know I stretched some shit lol, but hopefully, you were still invested in the plot. Only a few chapter's left!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thanks for reading! A lot of content creators are leaving the fandom, and there's definitely a lack of new fics for this ship. This idea has been in my head for a while, and I just felt like I had to write it down. I'm not totally done, but hopefully I'll put some new chapters up soon! Please, please, please leave comments and kudos! Any comment is good(unless it's kyman hate obviously), and I love reading them! Thank you so much, and I look forward to having you all read the next update!


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